Water reserves decline to 62%, but govt confident rainfall will comes in time
The Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) is confident that there will be enough water for farming and consumption this year, even though reservoir levels nationwide have dropped to 62%.
Following an ONWR meeting on Thursday, the Office’s deputy director-general Paitoon Kengkarnchang said that an assessment of the water situation had found that 51.42 billion cubic metres remained in all reservoirs nationwide.
Paitoon said the ONWR has efficiently managed water distribution from the reservoirs and with some climate models predicting the return of La Niña in the upcoming rainy season which would replenish water levels, the ONWR is confident that the water will be adequate for both farming and consumption.
He added that although 62% is the average level of all reservoirs combined, some have high levels of water while others are lower.
As a result, Paitoon said the ONWR has coordinated with some of the dams with high levels of water, such as the Bang Lang Dam in Yala, to speed up the discharge of water to make way for rainwaters when La Nina triggers heavy rains.
For other dams where water levels are low, among them the Bhumibol and Sirikit reservoirs, the ONWR has instructed the Royal Irrigation Department and the Department of Agricultural Extension to strictly control the planting of second crops of rice, as there might not be sufficient water for irrigation.
Paitoon added that the provinces in the Eastern Economic Corridor were not suffering a water shortage as the water distribution has been going as planned.
He added that controlling and managing the saline level in four major rivers in the central region between March 7 and 13 had gone as planned, and salinity was not above the safe standard.
